A number of House Democrats have signed onto a letter, sent to the State Department and FBI, calling for an independent investigation into the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. The letter is led by Reps. Andre Carson (D-IN) and Lou Correa (D-CA). Nearly sixty House members signed it.
This week Haaretz reported that Israel’s military police have decided not to open a criminal investigation into Abu Akleh’s death, despite the video of the killing contradicts the IDF’s original claim that the reporter was caught between gunfire. The Biden administration has condemned the killing, but they’ve also said that they trust Israel to conduct its own investigation into the event.
Text of the letter was shared by the group Americans for Peace Now. “As Members of Congress, we are deeply concerned by the death of Ms. Abu Akleh,” it reads. “Journalists worldwide must be protected at all costs. The U.S. State Department called Ms. Abu Akleh’s death ‘an affront to media freedom.’ We welcome the actions and statements taken so far by the U.S. Department of State supporting a thorough investigation by the Israeli government.”
“However, given the tenuous situation in the region and the conflicting reports surrounding the death of Ms. Abu Akleh, we request the State Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) launch an investigation into Ms. Abu Akleh’s death,” it continues. “We also request the U.S. Department of State determines whether any U.S. laws protecting Ms. Abu Akleh, an American citizen, were violated.”
Rep. Carson has consistently voiced support for Palestinian rights, and backs legislation aimed at holding Israel accountable for its actions, but Rep. Correa is generally a staunch supporter of the country and backed by groups like the Pro-Israel America PAC.
Signatories include Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Cori Bush (D-MO), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Marie Newman (D-IL), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Joaquin Castro (D-TX).
Today Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy echoed the recommendations of the letter in a statement. “Too often, shootings of unarmed civilians in the occupied territories have gone unpunished,” it reads. “This must not be one of those cases.”
During an Instagram Live chat on Thursday night Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) addressed Abu Akleh’s killing and openly questioned why the United States was funding the Israeli military. “We can’t even get healthcare in the United States. And we’re funding this,” she told viewers. “There has to be some sort of line that we draw, it has to stop at some point..it’s always been this political no-go zone for all parties for so long, that you’re not allowed to talk about it.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments are already being attacked by pro-Israel groups, who are also predictably implying that the congresswoman is antisemitic. “AOC’s claim that military aid to Israel undermines adequate healthcare in the U.S is, at best, a cheap publicity stunt and, at worst, something far more insidious,” tweeted the American Jewish Commitee.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz this week, but a readout of their talk does not mention Abu Akleh’s death at all.
I’m very glad to see 60 members of Congress have the courage to put aside the fear of Israeli threats. My profound thanks to these members of Congress. Hopefully this rule by fear is beginning to crack.
The American Jewish Committee’s tweet about AOC sounds to me like an insidious threat. Are they suggesting the ADL should launch a full-blown smear campaign against her, or perhaps “something more insidious?”
The lengths that these zionist sympathizers will go to stretch any criticism of Israel, aInd make it somehow connect to “anti-semitism” is pathetic. Everyone knows their tactics, but they still continue to do it. Any threat to cut off the charity we keep giving them, and stop the flow of weapons, seem to make them go on a feeding frenzy at start attacking the source, like hungry sharks. It looks ugly.
For years they used the victim card, and the anti-semitic card, to get their way, but now the world is getting wiser. AOC is right it is time we stopped sending this rogue nation billions of dollars that can be well spent here on the country, and killing yet another American is a good reason to do so.
Unfortunately our so called leadership is too cowardly to do so.
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Israel Killed Reporter Abu Akleh—but US Media Disguised the Facts – FAIR
“Israel Killed Reporter Abu Akleh—but US Media Disguised the Facts” by Robert Andersen, May 20/22EXCERPT:
“Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a well-known & much-loved Al Jazeera reporter who covered Palestine for two decades, was shot & killed by an Israeli sniper May 11 while documenting an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the Occupied West Bank.
“Footage of the moments after her death show Abu Akleh, still wearing her press vest & helmet, lying face down on the ground below a tree, as Shatha Hanaysha, another Palestinian journalist & writer for Mondoweiss, sits by her side & attempts to reach out to her. Writing for Mondoweiss (5/11/22), Yumna Patel described the video: A young Palestinian man is then seen jumping over a wall behind Abu Akleh & Hanaysha. When he attempts to retrieve Abu Akleh’s body, another round of sniper fire can be heard, & he quickly takes cover behind the tree.
“No armed combatants are there. Journalists are shouting for an ambulance. The young man tries a second time to remove Abu Akleh, but fails. He manages to help a shaken Hanaysha hide behind the tree. The footage is harrowing.
“The Qatar-based news network interrupted its broadcast (5/10/22) with breaking news reporting that ‘an Al Jazeera correspondent has been shot by Israeli forces’ & killed in Jenin. The network called it ‘deliberate,’ adding that the killing of Abu Akleh was a ‘heinous crime which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty.’
“Reporter Nida Ibrahim, on the phone from Ramallah, recounted the announcement of Abu Akleh’s death by the Palestinian Health Ministry, saying she was shot in the head. Her voice broke up as she talked about Abu Akleh’s dedication, her long experience covering Palestine, & the grief Ibrahim & her fellow journalists were experiencing. She carried on, saying, ‘This is the reality of Palestinian journalists covering the news’; unfortunately, they find themselves part of the story.(cont’d)
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“News of Abu Akleh’s death spread across the world at the speed of the internet, with outpourings of grief, tributes, & international condemnation for her killing. Journalists who have covered the Israeli occupation of Palestine provided context, hitting Twitter with art, videos, eyewitness testimony & images from Palestinian activists, advocacy groups & press critics, among many others. Clips of Al Jazeera footage were prominent.
“Late Wednesday, the Israeli military posted an online video & an implausible scenario to deflect blame for the murder, a denial that, with a few notable exceptions, corporate media would assiduously repeat. Yet the documentation & eyewitness accounts continued to mount.
“Mondoweiss‘s Hanaysha told Al Jazeera (5/11/22): ‘The [Israeli] occupation army did not stop firing even after she collapsed. I couldn’t even extend my arm to pull her, because of the shots. The army was adamant on shooting to kill.’
“Electronic Intifada (5/11/22) included the Twitter post of another Palestinian-American journalist—Dena Takruri, host of Al Jazeera‘s Direct From—who said, ‘Shireen was shot near her ear, where the helmet didn’t cover. This was a shot of extreme precision.’
“Abu Akleh was taken in a private vehicle to a hospital in Jenin, where she was declared dead. The shot to the head killed her instantly. An Al Jazeera producer, Ali Samoudi, was also shot in the back by an Israeli gunman, but will recover.
“At the hospital, Samoudi told reporters, ‘We were covering the raid of the Israeli occupation forces when they suddenly opened fire at us; the first bullet hit me & the other killed Shireen.’ He went on to say, ‘They killed her in cold blood.'”